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Offseason In Review: Atlanta Braves

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The Braves are coming off a World Series title, but they didn’t merely attempt to run it back with last year’s roster. Instead, they allowed one of the faces of the franchise to depart in free agency. In his place, they acquired a hometown star whom they quickly signed to an extension. They also fortified the late innings by adding a few of the best relievers on the open market as they attempt to repeat.

Major League Signings

Total spend: $62.15MM

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

Freddie Freeman, Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, Drew Smyly, Jesse Chavez, Chris Martin, Ehire Adrianza, Johan Camargo, Abraham Almonte, Stephen Vogt, Richard Rodriguez, Edgar Santana, Josh Tomlin, Terrance Gore, Grant Dayton

Coming off the club’s first World Series title since 1995, the Braves figured prominently in the hot stove season, if not quite as predicted. Despite a widespread (if dwindling) industry consensus that franchise cornerstone Freddie Freeman – the lone holdover from the period preceding the rebuild that followed its 2014 second-half collapse – would ultimately return to Atlanta, GM Alex Anthopoulos acted quickly when the lockout lifted, sending four prospects to the A’s for Matt Olson and signing him to a club-record eight-year, $168MM contract less than a day later.

Upsetting as the move may have been for Braves fans used to Freeman smiling and hugging his way through the Atlanta summer, Olson is one of a very small handful of first basemen capable of replacing the new Dodger’s ample production. From 2019 to 2021 (a period that includes Freeman’s monster 60-game MVP run in 2020), the Braves’ erstwhile face of the franchise compiled an elite .304/.402/.544 batting line, while his replacement put together a strong (if less eye-popping) .257/.354/.522 triple-slash. A closer look at the pair’s respective batted ball numbers suggest that Olson likely possesses a bit more power (he homered in 6.1% of his plate appearances over the same period, compared to Freeman’s 5%) if a bit less command of the strike zone (striking out 22.4% and walking 11.8% of the time compared to 16.4% and 13.2% for Freeman).

While the loss of a franchise stalwart could have downstream effects beyond questions of on-field performance, a closer look suggests Olson’s deal might actually offer the Braves more per-dollar value than Freeman likely would have had the club accepted either of the proposals reportedly put forward by his agent (per Buster Olney of ESPN): $175MM over six years or $165MM over five – or, for that matter, the six-year, $162MM pact he ultimately signed with the Dodgers. OPS+ (a park-adjusted metric that accounts for the fact that Freeman played his home games at roughly neutral Truist Park while Olson toiled in the pitcher-friendly confines of the Oakland Coliseum) gives Freeman only a slight edge (143 to 139) over the 2019-2021 period, with Olson’s 153 2021 mark solidly outpacing Freeman’s 134. Adding to the mix Olson’s superior defense – the 2021 Fielding Bible Awards ranked Olson second (to Paul Goldschmidt) and Freeman eighth – and the fact that he’s four years younger than Freeman makes the case for the long-term superiority of the former Athletic perfectly sound.

And though the question of Freeman’s future has clearly loomed largest in Anthopoulos’ mind since November, first base was hardly the only position at which the Braves began the offseason in flux. Indeed, of the four outfielders the Atlanta GM acquired ahead of the 2021 trade deadline (Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario), only Duvall (whom the Braves had non-tendered only a few months prior) came with any control beyond the season’s final two months. Both Soler (who got a three-year, $36MM deal with the Marlins) and Pederson (one-year, $6MM with the Giants) ultimately signed elsewhere, but the defending champs brought back Rosario –something of a folk hero in Atlanta after his MVP performance in the 2021 NLCS felled the Dodgers almost single-handedly – on a two-year, $18MM commitment, with a buyout-free $9MM option for 2024.

Anthopoulos reportedly maintained interest in Soler (the 2021 World Series MVP) even after re-signing Rosario, but the presence of Marcell Ozuna – who signed a four-year, $65MM deal ahead of the 2021 campaign but spent most of the season on administrative leave following a May  domestic violence arrest – always suggested that Soler, who has a similar profile on both sides of the ball, was unlikely to be more than a rental. Ozuna has spent the early portion of 2022 alongside Duvall and Rosario in the outfield, but he’ll likely return to the DH role that he occupied for most of his dominant 2020 campaign following the return of Ronald Acuña Jr. from knee surgery, which is expected in late April or early May.

Whether Acuña plays right or center field upon his return remains to be seen. Duvall, who played center through the Braves’ 2021 playoff run but often gave way to Guillermo Heredia late in games, opens the season in center, but he’s a career corner outfielder (if a very good one). Heredia remains on the roster as the club’s fourth outfielder, but the departure of Cristian Pache (possibly a perennial Gold Glover if he can hit enough to stick in the bigs) in the Olson deal leaves Acuña – whom the Braves had previously seemed intent on penciling into right field for years to come – as the most plausible center fielder on the roster. This could change, of course, should either of the Braves’ top outfield prospects – Michael Harris and Drew Waters – force his way to the bigs at some point in 2022.

Beyond Olson and Rosario, though, the Braves didn’t do much to bolster an offense that ranked 13th in wRC+ in 2021, reportedly kicking the tires on Carlos Correa but ultimately adding only backstop Manny Piña (on a two-year, $8MM deal) to be Travis d’Arnaud’s deputy and outfielder Alex Dickerson (1-year, $1MM) to DH until Acuña’s return and offer some punch off the bench thereafter. (Dickerson’s deal was initially non-guaranteed, but he has since made the team.) Even so, they’ll hope for improvement in production from Ozuna’s return to action (and return to form after a disappointing start in 2021) and roughly 120 games from a healthy Acuña, as well as a deeper catching unit that won’t require manager Brian Snitker to give significant at-bats to Kevan Smith, Jonathan Lucroy, and Jeff Mathis should d’Arnaud suffer another injury like the torn thumb ligament that sidelined him for the bulk of 2021.

The Braves will also hope for continued production from what’s arguably one of the game’s best infields. Third baseman Austin Riley, who rebounded spectacularly from a mediocre showing in 2020 and an ice-cold start to 2021 to the point that he garnered a number of down-ballot MVP votes, could emerge as a force to be reckoned with in the middle of the Braves’ order. The double-play combination of Dansby Swanson (an impending free agent) and Ozzie Albies (under club control through 2027 for far less than market rate) provides substantial up-the-middle power potential (Swanson slugged at a .449 clip in 2021, Albies .488) if a bit less in the way of on-base rate (Swanson notched a .311 OBP in 2021, Albies .310) than might be desired.

On the pitching staff, Anthopoulos opted to stand pat in the rotation – Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Ian Anderson anchor a group that opens the season with Huascar Ynoa and Kyle Wright in the fourth and fifth slots – but added substantial talent to a bullpen that had already proven itself capable of October dominance. He added Kirby Yates (expected to return around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March 2021) on a two-year, $8.25MM pact ahead of the lockout and the versatile Collin McHugh for two years and $10MM shortly after it was lifted, as well as Tyler Thornburg on a non-guaranteed one-year deal and Darren O’Day on a minor-league deal (both have since made the team).

But the most surprising development came shortly after the open of Spring Training when longtime Dodger Kenley Jansen signed a one-year, $16MM deal to displace lefty Will Smith in the closer role. News of Luke Jackson’s season-ending arm injury (he’s since undergone Tommy John surgery) dampens expectations, but only minimally. Alongside the incumbent ‘Night Shift’ (a coinage of lefty Tyler Matzek to describe himself and fellow high-leverage arms Jackson, Smith, and A.J. Minter during the 2021 playoffs), Yates, McHugh, and Jansen give the Braves a strong case for the game’s best ’pen, even without Jackson in the fold.

As deep as the Atlanta bullpen looks on paper, though, the rotation appears comparatively thin. After losing Drew Smyly (who received a one-year, $5.25MM guarantee from the Cubs), Anthopoulos likely looked for a veteran innings-eater but evidently came up empty. Fried, Morton, and Anderson form a solid core, while either or both of Ynoa (who looked like the Braves’ best starter early in 2021 before breaking his hand punching the dugout in Milwaukee) and Wright (who’s lost much of his high-end prospect luster but dominated Triple-A in 2021 and turned in a crucial performance in long relief in Game 4 of the World Series) could settle into a spot in rotation.

Should any of this bunch succumb to injury or ineffectiveness, though, the Braves would be forced to turn to a stable of high-upside but unproven arms that includes Kyle Muller, Tucker Davidson, Bryce Elder, Touki Toussaint, and Spencer Strider. They’ll also hope for the return of Mike Soroka (who ruptured his Achilles tendon in his second start of the 2020 season before re-tearing the ligament while walking in the Braves’ clubhouse) at some point, but no one will be quite sure what to expect from the onetime ace-in-waiting after such a long layoff and a pair of career-threatening surgeries.

There’s a reason no team has repeated as World Series champs since the Yankees’ three-peat from 1998 to 2000, and the 2021 Braves – who didn’t spend a day over .500 until early August – were almost certainly not the ‘best’ team in baseball before they captured a virulent strain of October magic that will live in Atlanta sports lore for generations to come. And even after finishing second in attendance in 2021 and reporting a substantial revenue increase in October, corporate ownership group Liberty Media appears to have signed off on only a relatively modest payroll increase, pushing the Braves into the upper third of payrolls but well shy of the luxury tax threshold. Still, there’s a solid argument that the 2022 Braves could be a stronger overall club than their 2021 counterparts – particularly if they can stay healthy. The NL East should be much improved, but this year’s Braves team looks just as equipped as last season’s to make a deep run.

Ronald Acuna Jr. To Begin Rehab Assignment On Tuesday

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Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. will begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett on Tuesday, weather permitting, per the Athletic’s David O’Brien (via Twitter).

That’s obviously great news for the Braves, who have been without their star outfielder since July 10th of last season. Acuna Jr. played in 82 games in 2021, almost exactly half the season, slashing .283/.394/.596 with 24 home runs and 17 stolen bases across 360 plate appearances. When healthy, there’s little doubt that he is one of the most electrifying talents in the game.

A healthy Acuna Jr. could potentially take over in center, though the Braves preferred to use him in right field in 2021. Adam Duvall has been Atlanta’s primary centerfielder this season, and he’s held his own defensively. Eddie Rosario and Marcell Ozuna have primarily been in the corners with Alex Dickerson, another corner outfielder, getting at-bats as the designated hitter. Someone from that group is going to lose at-bats when Acuna returns, with Dickerson the likeliest to find himself on the bench.

Luke Jackson Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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The Braves announced Wednesday that right-hander Luke Jackson underwent Tommy John surgery this morning. It was a widely expected move after Atlanta’s prior announcement that their longtime reliever had been diagnosed with a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. The Braves had already placed Jackson on the 60-day injured list, but today’s surgery formally closes the book on his 2022 season and, potentially, on his time with the organization. Jackson will be a free agent at season’s end.

Jackson’s loss is a notable one for the Braves, as the 30-year-old righty bounced back from a career-worst campaign in 2020 to post a career-best season in 2021. In 63 2/3 frames out of Brian Snitker’s bullpen last season, Jackson logged a a career-low 1.98 ERA with a 26.8% strikeout rate against an 11.1% walk rate. He yielded just six home runs on the season and racked up 31 holds on the year — second-most in all of Major League Baseball (behind Los Angeles’ Blake Treinen).

Notably, the Braves and Jackson haven’t even agreed on the right-hander’s salary for the 2022 season. A strange wrinkle from the 99-day lockout this offseason, there are still a handful of players throughout the league who exchanged figures with the team but have not yet settled on a deal. Jackson is among them, filing for a $4MM salary against the Braves’ filing of a $3.6MM sum. Arbitration salaries are based entirely on prior performance — they’re typically sorted in the offseason — and a potential arbitration hearing would only factor in Jackson’s prior performance rather than his current injury status.

Of course, one might wonder whether the Braves would try to now reengage on the possibility of a multi-year deal aimed at keeping Jackson at a lower price point in 2023 (and perhaps into 2024) than he’d have otherwise commanded. That’s purely speculative, but the Braves did put together a similarly structured deal for veteran reliever Kirby Yates this past winter.

If Jackson indeed simply reaches free agency as scheduled, he’d hit the open market at a time when teams know he could very well miss a month or two of the 2023 season. That doesn’t necessarily stop a Tommy John pitcher from securing a solid contract (as Yates and many others have proved), but it’d be an obvious dampener on what could’ve been some notable earning power for Jackson.

Even without Jackson, the Braves still ought to have a strong bullpen. Newcomers Kenley Jansen and Collin McHugh will join holdovers Will Smith, Tyler Matzek and A.J. Minter as experienced late-inning options. The aforementioned Yates is expected to rejoin the club at some point this summer, adding another All-Star-caliber arm to the mix. That’s not to diminish the importance Jackson held, but the Atlanta front office is surely glad to have bolstered the relief corps over the winter now that last year’s top setup option is done for the year.

Braves Select Jackson Stephens, Designate Jacob Webb

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The Braves announced this evening they’ve selected Jackson Stephens onto the big league roster. Mark Bowman of MLB.com first noted that Stephens had reported to the team. In a corresponding move, reliever Jacob Webb has been designated for assignment.

Stephens returns to the big leagues for the first time in four seasons. The 6’2″ right-hander broke into the majors in 2017 with the Reds, pitching 63 1/3 innings over two seasons. He posted just a 4.83 ERA with a subpar 19% strikeout rate and 36.7% ground-ball percentage, then spent the 2019 campaign in Triple-A. After electing minor league free agency, Stephens was unsigned for two seasons before returning in the Venezuelan Winter League last offseason.

The Alabama native starred in Venezuela, working to a 1.82 ERA in 49 1/3 innings en route to the league’s Pitcher of the Year award. The Braves were impressed enough by his form to add him on a minor league deal, and he worked his way back to the highest level after a lone outing with Triple-A Gwinnett. Stephens had worked almost exclusively as a reliever during his final couple seasons in the Reds system, but he pitched out of the rotation in Venezuela and worked six innings as a starter during his lone outing with the Stripers.

Atlanta selected prospect Bryce Elder to start tonight’s game, making his MLB debut in the process. Whether Elder will take a permanent rotation spot moving forward isn’t clear, and Stephens could be an option both for some stray starts or multi-inning relief work. The 27-year-old is out of minor league option years. Now that the Braves have brought him up to the majors, he has to stick on the active roster or be designated for assignment and made available to other clubs.

That’s the fate in which Webb now finds himself. The righty worked a career-high 34 1/3 innings with the World Series-winning club last season, his third straight campaign at the MLB level. He posted an excellent 1.06 ERA in 44 appearances over his first two seasons, but he missed significant time in both years. In 2019, Webb went down in August with a season-ending elbow impingement. The following year, he missed the first month and a half of the shortened schedule because of a shoulder strain.

Webb finally stayed healthy last season and managed decent results, pitching to a 4.19 ERA with a slightly below-average 21.6% strikeout rate. That belies an excellent 15.6% swinging strike percentage, however, as Webb has missed bats at a quality rate in all three of his MLB seasons. Atlanta had optioned Webb to Gwinnett to open the season, but he has yet to get in a game with the Stripers. He’s in his final option year, but another team could take a flier on him via waivers over the coming days given his decent track record.

Braves Select Bryce Elder, Designate Chadwick Tromp For Assignment

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The Braves have selected the contract of right-handed pitching prospect Bryce Elder in advance of tonight’s game, per a club announcement. Elder will start for the Braves and make his Major League debut. In a corresponding 40-man roster move, catcher Chadwick Tromp was designated for assignment. Atlanta also optioned lefty Tucker Davidson  and catcher William Contreras to Triple-A Gwinnett.

Elder, 22, somewhat incredibly becomes the second Braves draftee from the shortened, five-round 2020 amateur draft to reach the Majors. He and teammate Spencer Strider have both had meteoric rises through the minors and now represent two of the just five players from the 2020 draft already in the Majors. Elder (fifth round) and Strider (fourth) are the only non-first-rounders from that draft already in the Majors.

Looking at last year’s numbers, it’s perhaps not a shock that Elder was such a quick riser. He opened the 2021 season with 45 innings of 2.60 ERA ball against older competition in Class-A Advanced before tossing 56 frames of 3.21 ERA ball upon promotion to the Double-A level. Elder was then bumped to Triple-A Gwinnett, where he logged a 2.21 ERA in 36 2/3 frames despite being one of the youngest pitchers in the league.

Elder kept his strikeout rate above 27% the entire time and also posted ground-ball rates of at least 53.6% at each level, although command was more of a concern. Elder walked 57 of the 559 batters he faced (10.2%) and was particularly spotty in that regard against more advanced hitters at the Triple-A level (13.6%).

Baseball America ranks Elder sixth among Braves farmhands, noting that while the system has more powerful arms, Elder is the prototypical “pitchability” starter who’s a good bet to hold a spot in a rotation due to a five-pitch mix headlined by a sinker, plus slider and above-average changeup. Improving on his command will be key to further development for Elder, but he’ll have the opportunity to do so at the MLB level given the lack of proven starters for the Braves at the moment. Max Fried, Charlie Morton and Ian Anderson are all secure in their rotation spots, but Kyle Wright, Huascar Ynoa and Tucker Davidson have not yet solidified themself as long-term options. Mike Soroka, meanwhile, is on the shelf until this summer as he rehabs an Achilles injury.

As for the 27-year-old Tromp, he’ll lose his roster spot after four productive games in Gwinnett, where he’s gone 5-for-14 with a home run and a double. Tromp spent the bulk of the past two seasons in the Giants organization, batting .215/.220/.418 in a tiny sample of 82 Major League plate appearances. Atlanta claimed him off waivers from San Francisco last September. Tromp didn’t have a productive 2021 season in Triple-A, where he’s a career .254/.314/.412 hitter in parts of five seasons.

The Braves will have a week to trade Tromp, place him on outright waivers or release him. Teams are always on the lookout for catching depth, so there’s always a chance that a 27-year-old catcher with a pair of minor league options remaining will find a new home on the waiver wire.

Do The Braves Need Another Starter?

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Braves General Manager Alex Anthopolous struck out in his attempt to land a top-of-the-rotation arm during the offseason, he said recently on The Bill Shanks Show. Even without a fresh face at the top of the rotation, the Braves enter the season in pretty good hands with Max Fried and Charlie Morton leading the way.

The face of the Braves’ title defense season, however, may depend more on the next two arms in the rotation: Kyle Wright and Ian Anderson. If the young duo can fully establish themselves as mainstays in the rotation, the future in Atlanta is bright.

Anderson is further along than Wright at the moment, having made 24 starts in the 2021 season, finishing with a 3.58 ERA/4.12 FIP over 128 1/3 innings. He then made four starts in the postseason, all four of which the Braves won. In fact, over the past two postseasons, the Braves are 7-1 in games Anderson starts, while he owns a 1.26 ERA over 35 2/3 postseason innings. After 30 career regular-season starts, Anderson’s rotation spot is secure. The only question remaining relates to his ceiling.

Wright, meanwhile, made just two starts with the big league squad during the regular season, and then matched that total in the World Series alone, tossing 5 2/3 innings and serving up just one earned run. Wright should finally get his opportunity to stay in the rotation this year.

The final spot in the rotation is where the Braves were presumably looking to upgrade. Mike Soroka lurks somewhere in the organization, but he can hardly be counted on until proven healthy. For now, they will rely on a depth group that includes Huascar Ynoa, Tucker Davidson, Kyle Muller, Touki Toussaint, and Bryce Elder. That group carries more upside than most depth stables, but for a team with aspirations of back-to-back titles, upside can mask inefficiency.

The Braves have won the division four years running, and they’re the defending World Series champions. To suggest that they need anything is premature. But with the Mets and Phillies both nipping hard at their heels, nothing is guaranteed. It’s certainly interesting to note that Anthopolous explored frontline rotation additions this offseason. As the season progresses and new names become available on the trade market, the Braves may again look to engage the trade market.

Braves Sign Delino DeShields To Minors Deal

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The Braves have signed outfielder Delino DeShields to a minor league deal, according to the club’s transactions tracker at MLB.com. He was recently released by the Marlins, after signing a minor league deal with them and making a brief appearance in their spring camp.

DeShields, 29, has played in each of the past seven MLB seasons, garnering praise for his speed and outfield defense, but not offering a ton at the plate. He stole 106 bases across his first five seasons while playing for the Rangers, but only hit .246/.326/.342, wRC+ of 76. Still, he was able to provide 4.8 fWAR in that time due to his contributions on the grass.

The past two seasons, he’s gone into journeyman mode, spending time in the organizations of the Guardians, Red Sox, back to the Rangers, then the Reds and Marlins. Last year, he showed a bit more promise at the plate, putting up a Triple-A line of .252/.385/.366, 101 wRC+ and an MLB line of .255/.375/.426, 115 wRC+. That big league output is easily the best of his career, though it came in a small sample of just 58 plate appearances.

For the Braves, DeShields should bolster the club’s outfield depth, which is currently centered by Adam Duvall, who only had 31 games of center field experience coming into this season. They also have defensively-challenged corner outfielders in Eddie Rosario and Marcell Ozuna taking the field on a regular basis. That trio certainly adds a lot of pop to the lineup, but could also be giving runs back on the other side of the ball. Signing a glove-first player like DeShields will give them the ability to pivot to a different approach later.

Of course, all of this is temporary, as the club is just trying to tread water in the outfield until the return of superstar Ronald Acuna Jr. He is still in the process of working his way back from last year’s torn ACL injury. According to Justin Toscano of The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the team is “loosely targeting” April 25 for Acuna to start a rehab assignment in the minors. Acuna was primarily a center fielder in 2019 but gradually started spending more time in right field over the past two seasons. Having a healthy Acuna in center and bumping Duvall into a corner would probably be a best case scenario. However, due to the severity of the injury and his importance to the team, the Braves will surely give Acuna some time as designated hitter and occasional off days, even after he’s eligible to rejoin the big league team. With center field generally being a more demanding position to play than the corners, it’s possible they won’t consider Acuna up the middle at all this year. With that future uncertainty, and the natural grind of a baseball season that leads to both major and minor injuries, DeShields could prove to be a useful piece for the club down the road.

Braves Select Darren O’Day, Place Luke Jackson On 60-Day IL

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The Braves have announced that they have selected the contract of reliever Darren O’Day, who they had signed to a minor league deal in November. To make room on the 40-man roster, fellow reliever Luke Jackson was placed on the 60-day IL. Additionally, Kyle Muller was optioned to Triple-A.

O’Day, 39, is a veteran side-arming righty who made his MLB debut with the Angels back in 2008. After spending some time with the Mets and Rangers, he landed with the Orioles and stayed for his longest stretch with any one club, spending seven seasons in Baltimore from 2012 to 2018. He then spent two seasons with Atlanta before donning Yankee pinstripes last year, and will now rejoin the Braves this year.

Over his 587 1/3 career innings, he holds an ERA of 2.53, strikeout rate of 25.8% and walk rate of 6.8%, all excellent numbers. However, he was limited to just 10 2/3 innings last year due to various injuries. He had a player option that could have kept him in the Bronx this year with a $1.4MM salary, but he chose the $700K buyout instead. His deal with the Braves will guarantee him $1MM, meaning that he earned himself an extra $300K by opting for the buyout.

As for Jackson, his IL placement isn’t terribly surprising after yesterday’s news that he may require Tommy John surgery. Although that surgery is not yet guaranteed, this move assures that he will be out of action for at least a couple of months. The 30-year-old had a tremendous breakout season last year, throwing 63 2/3 innings of 1.98 ERA ball, helping the club win the NL West and eventually hoist the World Series trophy. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to build on that campaign due to this injury. The club has bolstered their bullpen this offseason with the additions of Collin McHugh and Kenley Jansen. With Jackson landing on the shelf, O’Day will step in as yet another veteran presence.

Luke Jackson Diagnosed With Damaged UCL

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The Braves received disheartening news regarding the health of reliever Luke Jackson, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). The team announced MRI results that revealed damage to his ulnar collateral ligament, an injury that often results in Tommy John surgery.

Jackson will explore all the options before making a decision, but Tommy John surgery is certainly within the realm of possibility. In that case, Jackson would not be likely to return until sometime during the 2023 season.

The 30-year-old right-hander is coming off a breakout year for the World Champion Braves. Jackson made 71 appearances, logging 63 2/3 innings, and posted  a sparkling 1.98 ERA during the regular season. There may have been some bounces in Jackson’s favor, as fielding independent pitching marked his performance at 3.66 runs per nine innings. Regardless, he recorded a career-high 31 holds in 2021.

The Braves invested heavily in their bullpen this offseason, however, and ought to be able to weather the loss of Jackson. Kenley Jansen, Kirby Yates, and Collin McHugh were all added to the bullpen this winter to balance lefties Will Smith, Tyler Matzek, and A.J. Minter as late game options for Atlanta.

Braves Sign Preston Tucker To Minor League Deal

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The Braves have signed Preston Tucker to a minor league contract, according to an announcement from Double-A broadcaster Chris Harris (on Twitter). It’ll be the second stint in the organization for the now 31-year-old outfielder, who appeared in 80 games with the Braves back in 2018.

That stint marked Tucker’s most recent as a major leaguer. He preceded his younger brother Kyle Tucker in the Astros outfield, breaking in with Houston in 2015. The elder Tucker hit a serviceable .243/.297/.437 as a rookie, but he mustered only a .164/.222/.328 mark in 48 games the following season. After spending the entire 2017 campaign in Triple-A, Tucker split the 2018 season between the Reds and Braves.

Over parts of three MLB seasons, the left-handed hitter owns a .222/.281/.403 line. In 2019, he made the jump to the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization, kicking off a productive three-year run there. Tucker was one of the better players in the KBO during each of his first two seasons, following up a .311/.381/.479 debut showing with an even better .306/.398/.557 line in 2020.

Tucker’s production fell during his final season with the Gwangju-based Tigers. He managed just nine homers and a .113 isolated power (slugging minus batting average) in 539 plate appearances last season. His strikeout and walk numbers remained impressive, but Tucker’s results on batted balls evaporated en route to a .237/.334/.350 line. Nevertheless, Tucker still had a quality .284/.372/.466 mark in three KBO seasons.

He’ll now make the return to affiliated ball in hopes of getting back to the majors for the first time in four years. He’s strictly a corner outfield option, and the Braves already have Adam Duvall, Marcell Ozuna, Eddie Rosario and Alex Dickerson likely to receive playing time there. Travis Demeritte and the center field-capable Guillermo Heredia and Drew Waters are also on the 40-man roster (as, of course, is star Ronald Acuña Jr.). Tucker likely slots behind that group on the organizational depth chart, but he’ll have an opportunity to try to his play his way onto the radar with a productive high minors showing.

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